Yard do's and don'ts around New Orleans

New Orleans yards deal with heat, humidity, and hard rain. A few habits help.

Do

• Plant things that already grow here. They need less water and fewer sprays.
• Give water somewhere to go. A low spot or a rain garden beats a flooded bed.
• Mulch the beds. It holds water and blocks a lot of weeds.
• Water deep, not every day. Morning is better than noon.
• Mow on a schedule. Don't take off more than a third of the blade.

Don't

• Don't soak the yard. Wet roots rot in this humidity.
• Don't ignore bugs. Check for aphids, caterpillars, and snails, and deal with them early.
• Don't plant something that takes over. Skip plants known to spread and crowd out the rest.
• Don't dump fertilizer on. Too much runs off in the rain. Use the rate on the bag.
• Don't skip the seasonal cleanup. Prune, weed, and pull what's dead.